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Writer's pictureNick Moussa

What Is Car Detailing: Everything You Need To Know

Updated: Nov 16

Car Detailing is the art of cleaning your vehicle while tackling every little detail and corner of your car, in addition to protecting the interior and exterior as part of a general maintenance process. The cleaning part of the Car Detailing process includes deep cleaning of the interior, rims and wheels cleaning, exterior car wash, bugs and tar removal, clay bar treatment & paint decontamination, windows cleaning, and machine buffing (AKA cut & polish). The protection part of Car Detailing includes paint protection, interior protection, and windows cleaning & protection.


Car Detailing

Car Detailing: Deep Cleaning Of The Interior

Interior Car Detailing is the process of meticulously cleaning and addressing every part of a car's interior, including plastic components, leather parts, dashboard, console, door trims, seats & carpet.

The process usually starts by using some interior cleaning chemicals, a detailing brush, and an air gun to clean and flush all the tight spots such as the air vents, the console's small cracks and joints, in addition to some small parts of the door trims.

The next step usually involves a deep and thorough vacuum of the carpet and fabric seats, as a preparation for the stain removal process.

Car Detailing - Steam Cleaning

After the preparation stage, a deep clean car detailing for the carpet and seats begins in order to remove any stains or food spills, and get rid of germs and bacteria that might be causing bad smell. This process can be done by either shampooing the fabric surfaces, or using a steam cleaning machine to tackle the stubborn stains. Normally both methods are followed by a deep and final vacuum using a wet & dry vacuum machine.

The final step consists of wiping the interior plastic surfaces with a car interior cleaning product to make sure there are no spots or stains left behind.


Wheels & Tyres Cleaning: A Must In Car Detailing

The wheels & tyres cleaning process is a key element in the car detailing task. A vehicle can be meticulously detailed and polished from the outside, but can still look odd if the rims do not reflect the same level of clean & shine.

To achieve the desired outcome, wheels have to be sprayed with a strong wheel cleaner or degreaser, then brushed from the inside out using a wheel detailing long brush to reach the inner section of your rims. The face of your wheels and tyres have to be cleaned by a hand brush or sponge as well, and then rinsed by using a pressure washer. Most car detailing experts consider cleaning the wheels as the main task in the whole detailing process.

After cleaning and rinsing, the wheels have to be dried and properly wiped by a microfiber cloth, before applying a tyre shine or tyre dressing for a wet shiny look.


Exterior Car Wash

Many detailers and amateurs consider this task as the fun & easy part of car detailing because it simply involves shampooing the car's exterior. But as you expected, it is not as simple as it looks. A wrong approach can dramatically increase the wash marks and swirl mark on your paint, making your car look dull over time. These marks are normally generated by having a lot of dust and dirt particles on your vehicle or washing pad while performing the exterior cleaning task. So first, you need to make sure that you are using a perfectly clean washing pad or microfiber cloth. The next thing to do is rinsing your car with a pressure washer to reduce the amount of dirt and dust stuck on the paint. Then you can proceed by spraying the car with snow foam, let it sit on it for 2 minutes, then rinse it again using your pressure washing machine.

After you have finished with these preparation steps, spray the vehicle again with a thick layer of snow foam, then scrub it with a clean washing pad or microfiber cloth, but don't scrub too hard or press strongly against the panels while scrubbing because you are trying to remove the dirt off your car with minimal damage to the paint. The more frequently you wash your car, the less swirl marks you will have in the future because you are not allowing too much dirt to stick on your vehicle between washes.

After scrubbing, rinse your car for the final time with the pressure washer and make sure there are no traces of soap left behind. And finally dry it with a microfiber towel to prevent any water damage or water stains.


Bugs & Tar Removal

Bugs, tar & road grime can be a little stubborn to get rid off during the normal washing procedure, so they may require a little extra attention. There is nothing complicated about removing these contaminants, the only thing you need to do is physically identify and locate the affected spots and apply the relevant chemicals. In most cases, after applying the chemicals you need to do a bit of scrubbing, so make sure you do that with a clean microfiber cloth and while applying minimal force.

Car Detailing products to remove bugs might consist of a high concentration of degreaser, while tar & road grime products can contain light solvents.


Clay Bar Treatment & Paint Decontamination

This stage of the car detailing process aims to remove any debris or contaminants that might still be stuck on your car's paint, but are invisible to the naked eye. The clay bar is a soft clay-like substance designed to smoothen up rough paint by pulling contaminants like metal dust and break dust stuck on your car's clear coat. Clay bar has to be used with a lubricant spray to prevent permanent damage and marks on the paint.

The final step for having a perfectly clean exterior is paint decontamination. This bit is the easiest part as it consists only of wiping the vehicle's paint with a strong alcoholic solution (predominantly Isopropyl alcohol) to make sure nothing is left to clean


Window Cleaning

Apart from being an essential part of the car detailing process, cleaning your car's windows can enhance visibility and promote safety. The task itself is not complicated as it consists of spraying window cleaner and wiping, however, it can be a bit time-consuming if the windows are very dirty.

Window Cleaning | Car detailing

Machine Buffing or Cut & Polish: Does It Add Value To A Car Detailing Job?

Machine buffing, or what is also known as cut & polish is the act of polishing your car with the use of a polishing or buffing machine. The modern version of this machine is called Dual Action Orbiter, as a description of the motion it creates while in operation. The word cut comes from the action of cutting a small portion of the clear coat in order to reveal the fresher layer underneath. This cutting depth is invisible to the naked eye and is measured in microns, but it can make the car look much shinier than ever before.

Buffing | Machine Cut & Polish

Buffing can serve different purposes in the car detailing business. If the car is polished with a compound that is rich in wax and protectants, then the purpose of the buffing is to give the car a good shine and protect its paint from different contaminants for the next few weeks. Now if the aim is to apply a permanent layer of protection such as graphene or ceramic coating, detailers would advise to go for a multiple stage paint correction procedure. This car detailing procedure aims at reducing the number of swirl marks on your car to the bare minimum before sealing it with any sort of ceramic sealants. Multiple stage paint correction means buffing the car multiple time while using different cutting pads and cutting compounds in order to achieve the best outcome. Such procedure can take up to 1 day to complete, and in certain cases even more.


Paint Protection, Interior Protection, and Glass Protection. Is Protection A Must With a Car Detailing Task?

Many people always ask if it is worth or required to apply any sort of protection after car detailing, and the simple answer is yes, it is absolutely a must if you are aiming to preserve your car's paint and interior for the long run:

Paint Protection:

The paint protection you can use depends on the level of protection you need, and the budget you intend to spend on such a task. There are 3 main paint protection categories:

  1. Wax / Ceramic Sealant:

    This form of protection is the less expensive and easiest to apply, however, it does not last too long on your car. Traditional waxes used to last between 2 to 4 weeks but they are rarely used these days. The most modern way is the use of ceramic sealants which can give you up to 6 months of protection from UV rays and multiple contaminants, and the application is very easy, just spray and wipe.

  2. Ceramic Coating or Graphene Coating:

    This is the most famous form of protection because it can last several years on a car if maintained properly. It can protect your car from paint damage, paint fading, bird and bat droppings, and many other contaminants your car can be subjected to. The downside of this option is that it requires professionals to install it and can be a little expensive but it is definitely worth the money.

    Ceramic Coating Paint Protection
  3. Paint Protection Film (PPF):

This is the most expensive form of paint protection in the car detailing industry. It consists of a clear film that becomes almost invisible when applied on the vehicle. It can wrap all painted surfaces and panels and shield the vehicle from the exterior world for the next 15 years. So imagine peeling this layer 15 years later to reveal a fresh paint underneath. Isn't it cool?

Interior Protection:

Applying protection for your car's interior after the car detailing process is a must to protect the dashboard, console, fabric and leather from permanent damages and stains that can be caused by the UV rays or food spills. There are many products in the market that can service this purpose. Most of these products have to be applied every 3 or 6 months for optimum protection.

Glass Protection:

Car Detailing is not only about making your car looking great, but it is also about increasing the safety factor while driving. Glass protection is a product applied to the exterior surface of your car's windows once every 2 or 3 years to create a hydrophobic surface that makes it easier to clean and harder for the dirt to stick on your glass. This effect helps increasing your visibility and enhancing your safety while driving.

Window Tinting:

Although it is widely debated if window tinting can be considered a part of car detailing, to understand this, you need to understand the purpose of window tinting. Window tinting is a thin layer of film applied to the interior of car's windows. The purpose of this film is to prevent strong sunlight and UV rays to reach your vehicle's interior, and this action helps preserving the leather and plastic components of the interior. Even though many car detailing companies do not provide window tinting services, it is still safe to assume that window tinting is part of the car detailing industry as it promotes safety and car interior longevity.


Visit our packages page if you are interested in booking any of our services, or go to Hot Ride's home page for all other details.

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